Native American Economy Today

Native American generally lack an economic base because their land and resources with which to build and sell things were taken away by treaties and force, mostly during the Allotment and Termination Eras. However, with the invention of Native American gaming by the Seminole Tribe of Florida, Native American economy has taken a turn for the better. Currently, there are 391 tribal gaming operations. The top 21 or 5% earned 43% of the revenues, and the bottom 87 or 22% percent earned 0.4% of the revenues in 2004. In spite of the great success of tribal gaming, only 40% of the 562 federally recognized tribes operate casinos. Tribal gaming accounted for about one fourth of all U.S. gaming revenues in 2004. Tribal gaming revenues grew from $5.4 billion in 1995 to $22.6 billion in 2005. Federal Indian programs, such as the ones in California, were created by the government in an effort to help Native Americans adjust to modern society while keeping their traditions and ways of life. In addition, many tribes are coming together and creating Pan-Indian programs such as the American Indian Movement, the Indian Defense League of America, the Native American Rights Fund, the National Indian Education Association and the Society of American Indians. These programs were created to uphold fishing rights, rights guarantied by treaties, the right to cross the border between the United States and Canada guarantied by the Jay Treaty of 1794, and to teach their children the language, culture and traditions of the tribes. The Inter-Tribal Environmental Council oversees the Superfund Program, Clean Air Program, Solid Waste Program, Underground Storage Tank Program, and the Indian Environmental General Assistance Program. One tribe alone cannot make enough of a difference, so Native American tribes have created Pan-Indian programs in an attempt to gain public support and have enough power to persuade the federal government to let them be free, independent nations. Since in modern society money is everything, having a stable economy and a guaranteed source of income has let tribes start handling their own affairs, and becoming independent of the federal government. Some, but not all, tribes no longer need to rely on government support to survive. The tribes that do have a substantial income can buy or create any programs or businesses they need and/or desire. Having the ability to run their own governments and enforce laws on their reservations has changed Native American tribes from being wholly dependent on the federal government for money and sustenance to being almost completely independent.